Kanpur: Panic gripped Sikathiya village in Sarsaul on Sunday after the ground suddenly caved in amid torrential rain, leaving behind a 40-ft-deep pit near an old house. The subsidence prompted the Narwal SDM to rush police and revenue teams to the spot and order the area to be barricaded and the pit filled.Around 7 am on Sunday, the ground suddenly caved in inside the kitchen of an old house belonging to Pappu Diwakar, leaving behind a pit measuring about 2 to 3 ft in width.Diwakar’s centuries-old house collapsed during previous rain, following which he built another house beside it. A 10-ft-wide road runs outside the house, which stands 4 ft above road level.Villagers said several generations had lived in the old house and that no well had been dug or boring conducted there.Locals were attending to their daily chores when they noticed the pit while children were playing outside. They rushed to the spot and moved the children away, averting a possible accident.A wall of the neighbouring house adjoining the pit is also at risk of collapse. Villagers said local police and revenue officials had been informed.
